Southeast Asian Perspectives on Security

6. Disputes in the South China Sea: Approaches for Conflict Management

98 Mohamed Jawhar bin Hassan© 2000 Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore 6 Disputes in the South China Sea: Approaches for Conflict Management Mohamed Jawhar bin Hassan INTRODUCTION The preoccupations in the Asia-Pacific region today are with economics, not security. The factors which most undermined peace in the region for most of the century — colonialism, major power rivalry, (Japanese) imperialism, and the ideological Cold War — have subsided. States are now more concerned with issues such as development, growth rates, employment, inflation, investment, trade, technology, human resource development, infrastructure and the environment. This is especially so in the wake of the Asian financial crisis. Nevertheless, the region is not without security problems, some of them major. The most pervasive security problems facing the region are those involving territory and sovereignty. Every state in the Western Pacific rim, from Russia in the north to Indonesia in the south, is involved. Of the territorial and sovereignty issues, Asia-Pacific security is particularly vulnerable in three areas: the Korean peninsula, the Taiwan Strait, and the South China Sea. And of these three, the conflict in the South China Sea has the least destructive potential in terms of either the likely mobilization of firepower or potential casualties. THE SPRATLYS, THE CLAIMANTS AND THE CLAIMS Four areas are in dispute in the South China Sea: the Paracels, which is contested by China, Taiwan and Vietnam; the Gulf of Tonkin, disputed by China and Vietnam; Pratas Island and Macclesfield Bank, contested by ISEAS DOCUMENT DELIVERY SERVICE. No reproduction without permission of the publisher: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 30 Heng Mui Keng Terrace, SINGAPORE 119614. FAX: (65)7756259; TEL: (65) 8702447; E-MAIL: publish@iseas.edu.sg Disputes in the South China Sea 99© 2000 Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore China and Taiwan; and the Spratlys, contested in whole or part by six littoral parties: China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. This chapter discusses only the Spratlys, a group of 230 or so islets, sandbanks and reefs of which only three dozen features are above water level and none of which are more than half a square kilometre in area. China and Taiwan claim about 80 per cent of the entire South China Sea bounded by a U-shaped line that China made public in 1947 and which appears on official Chinese maps. (The China and Taiwan claims are in fact a single claim.) China believes that the Sea has been part of Chinese territory since at least the Qing or Han period. In July 1995, however, China issued a policy statement indicating that it was “ready to work together with the countries concerned to resolve appropriately the relevant disputes according to recognized international law, (and) the contemporary law of the sea, including basic principles and the legal regime defined in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea [UNCLOS]”.1 In 1996 China ratified UNCLOS. Vietnam claims all the islands and features that are above sea level in the Spratlys. The Philippines claims all features (above sea level as well as submerged) in the area it calls Kalayaan (Freedomland). Malaysia claims seven features, while Brunei has laid claim to a 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) which includes Louisa Reef, also claimed by Malaysia. The claimants cite various grounds for their claims. China, Taiwan and Vietnam base theirs on ancient discovery, continuous usage and effective occupation. The Philippines claim, as contained in a presidential decree of June 1978, cites “history, indispensable need and effective occupation and control”. Malaysia’s claim is based on the grounds that the features it considers Malaysia’s are located on its continental shelf. The largest number of features — 22 — is occupied by Vietnam. China occupies 9 (including Mischief Reef), the Philippines 8, Malaysia 3 and Taiwan one (Appendix 6.1). KEY PLAYERS AND THEIR INTERESTS Besides the six claimants, the United States, and to some extent Japan, are the most significant players in the Spratlys. The nature of their interests conditions heavily the prospects for conflict management and dispute resolution. The interests of the claimants may be summarized as follows: 100 Mohamed Jawhar bin Hassan© 2000 Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore • National sovereignty and territorial integrity. As is normally the case with states, all the claimants take this interest as supreme. It is one for which they are prepared to go to extraordinary lengths to assert and defend in the name of...